Cafe traverse rod



p 19, 1967 K. M. JOHNSON 3,341,885

CAFE TRAVERSE ROD Filed Dec. 23, 1965 INVENTOR. KEN NETH M. JOHNSON BYWad ATTORNEYS 3,341,885 Patented Sept. 19, 1967 3,341,885 CAFE TRAVERSEROD Kenneth M. Johnson, Kensington, Conn, assignor to The Stanley Works,New Britain, Cnn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Dec. 23, 1965,Ser. No. 515,936 6 Claims. (Cl. 16-2) This invention relates to a cafetraverse rod and more particularly to such a rod having aself-adjusting, selflocking grommet mounted in a curved wall thereof.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a cafetraverse rod having a self-locking grommet mounted in an opening in acurved wall thereof which is capable of protecting the pull cord of therod from the irregularities such as burrs or the like which may exist inthe opening. Included in this object is the provision that such agrommet is simple in design and is economical to manufacture and isself-adjusting to maintain a snug fit in the opening in the curved wallof the rod despite manufacturin tolerances and variations which mayexist in the size of the opening as Well as any irregularities such asburrs or the like which may exist in the latter.

Another object of this invention is to provide a grommet which can beinstalled by an unskilled worker without the use of tools.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereafter set forth, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a cafe traverse rod incorporatingthis invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmental enlarged cross sectional view taken along theline 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the improved grommet of the presentinvention;

FiG. 4 is an enlarged top view of the improved grommet shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged end view of the improved grommets of FIGS. 3 and4; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view in fragment depicting anintermediate step in the assembly of the grommet in the cafe traverserod.

Referring now to the drawing in which like numerals refer to like partsthroughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a cafe traverserod 10, preferably formed of metal and having generally cylindricalcross section, and having a decorative end cap or finial 12 mounted onthe end thereof.

The cafe traverse rod is provided with a plurality of ring glides 14(only two of which are shown for simplicity of illustration) to whichcurtains or draperies may be attached by conventional hooks in the usualmanner.

Adjacent the end of the cafe traverse rod 10 is an opening 16 throughwhich passes the pull cords 18 for shifting the glides 14 to open orclose the draperies or curtains in the usual manner.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the pull cords 18 pass over a pair of pulleys20 mounted on pins 22 which in turn are supported in a pulley housing 24secured to the rod 10.

In accordance with this invention the opening 16 in the curved wall ofthe cafe traverse rod 10 is lined by .a grommet generally designated bythe numeral 26 to shield the pull cords 18 from the sharp edges or burrswhich would otherwise be presented by the opening 16 in the curved wallof the rod 10.

In the preferred embodiment the grommet 26 comprises an integral bodyformed from a firm tough semirigid resilient moldable plastic materialsuch as nylon, Delrin, or the like. The grommet body includes a pair ofgenerally parallel spaced longitudinal walls 30 which are joined at bothends by arcuate end walls 32 to form an aperture 28. The lower portionsof the walls 30 and 32 are formed so as to be convexly arcuate andterminate along the outer periphery of the grommet body by a peripheralshoulder or flange 36 which extends entirely around the grommet tooverlie and conceal the edges of the opening 16. The peripheral flange36, including the end portions 34 thereof (FIG. 5), are concavely curvedand have a radius of curvature substantially equal to that of thecylindrical rod 10.

Extending upwardly from the peripheral shoulder 36 is an uninterruptedwall 38 extending around the inner periphery of the grommet 26 andterminating in a top wall 46 of generally planar configuration.Laterally extending lips or projections 42 which overlie thelongitudinal portions of shoulder 36 form a pair of side grooves 44. Itwill be observed that the side grooves 44 are canted at an angierelative to the transverse plane through the center of the grommet dueto the curvature of peripheral flange 36 so that the peripheral shoulder36 lies tightly against the curved surface of the rod 10 to avoidleaving an unsightly gap. The width of the slot 44 likewise conforms tothe thickness of the metal forming the rod 16 to provide a snug fit.

To apply the grommet 26 to the opening 16 of the rod 10 from the outsidethereof, one of the lateral grooves 44- is applied over a longitudinaledge of the opening 16 as shown in FIG. 6 by moving it laterally withrespect thereto and thereafter it is moved to the position shown in FIG.2 by forcing the exposed lip 42 which remains external of the opening 16to pass the associated side edge of the opening 16. This may beconveniently accomplished by means of thumb pressure applied to thelower surface of the grommet 26. Passage of the lip 42 through theopening 16 despite the greater dimension of the lip 42 when compared tothe opening 16 is characterized by deformation of the lip 42 aspermitted by the inherent flexibility thereof and is facilitated by thecurved configuration of the Wall of the rod 10 forming the opening 16since the pressure applied to the grommet 26 tends to flatten out thewall and hence increase the width of the opening 16.

When the grommet 26 is finally in its assembled position as shown inFIG. 2, the shoulder 36 of the grommet 26 will firmly and closely engagethe lower side of the edges of the opening 16 around its entireperiphery due to the concave curvature thereof. Additionally, the lips42 will be snugly and resiliently engaged with the inner surface of rod10, since the lips 42, when in a natural or unfiexed state aredimensioned so as to slightly interfere with the inner surface of therod 11 It will be observed, as best shown in FIG. 2, that the grooves 44are canted and their bottom walls are spaced apart a lesser distancethan the width of the opening 16 to accommodate any burrs or otherconstructional irregularities which might exist in the walls of the rod10 around the opening 16 thereby permitting the semirigid grommet 26 tobe snugly seated despite dimensional variances and imperfections in theopening 16. Additionally it will be seen that the grommet of the presentinvention is of durable and lightweight construction which may bemanufactured at low cost, and which may be easily and rapidly insertedinto the pull cord opening of a cafe rod having curved walls byunskilled labor with substantially no risk of damage to the surfacefinish of the cafe rod.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modificationsand adaptations of the structure above described will become readilyapparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a cafe traverse rod having a pull cord opening ina curved wall theerof wherein variances occur in the dimensions andfinish of the openings, a selfadjusting, self-locking grommet forcovering the edges of said opening comprising an apertured body havinggenerally parallel side walls joined together at their ends by curvedend walls, the body having a convex bottom surface terminating on theouter periphery thereof to form a peripheral flange around the peripheryof the grommet, the transverse portions of the peripheral flange beingconcavely curved and having a curvature corresponding to the curvatureof the rod at the end of said opening, the grommet further having acontinuous inner peripheral wall projecting upwardly above said shoulderand disposed within said opening, said inner peripheral wall providing apair of laterally extending lips on the sides of said grommet spacedfrom the peripheral flange to form a pair of grooves therewith, saidlaterally extending lips being formed of a resilient semirigid moldedplastic deformable to alter the lateral projection of said lips forassembly in said opening and to resiliently bias said peripheral flangein intimate contact with the curved outer periphery of said rod.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 wherein said pair of grooves arecanted relative to a transverse plane through said grommet.

3. A device as recited in claim 1 wherein the longitudinal portions ofsaid peripheral flange have a curvature essentially conforming to thatof the periphery of the rod at the edge of said opening.

4. A device as recited in claim 3 wherein said grommet is formed ofmolded nylon.

5. For lining an opening in a curved wall of a traverse rod whereinvariances occur in the dimensions and finish thereof, a mouldedself-adjusting, self-locking grommet comprising an apertured body havinggenerally parallel longitudinal side walls joined together at their endsby curved end walls, a continuous peripheral flange formed on the outerperiphery of the grommet, the end portions of said peripheral flangebeing concavely curved and having a curvature corresponding with thecurvature of the traverse rod at the end of said opening, said grommetfurther having a continuous upstanding inner peripheral wall providing apair of outwardly extending lips on the sides thereof, said laterallyextending lips being spaced from the peripheral flange to form a pair ofside grooves therewith, said grommet being composed of a resilientsemirigid molded plastic flexible to alter the lateral projection ofsaid lips during assembly in said opening.

6. A device as recited in claim 5 wherein said pair of grooves arecanted relative to a transverse plane through the center of saidgrommet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,269,626 1/1942 Henry 3452,367,836 1/1945 Brown 162 3,082,470 3/1963 Fork 16--2 MARVIN A.CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

J. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A CAFE TRAVERSE ROD HAVING A PULL CORD OPENING ACURVED WALL THEREOF WITHIN VARIANCES OCCUR IN THE DIMENSIONS AND FINISHOF THE OPENINGS, A SELFADJUSTING, SELF-LOCKING GROMMET FOR COVERING THEEDGES OF SAID OPENING COMPRISING AN APERTURED BODY HAVING GENERALLYPARALLEL SIDE WALLS JOINED TOGETHER AT THEIR ENDS BY CURVED END WALLS,THE BODY HAVING A CONVEX BOTTOM SURFACE TERMINATING ON THE OUTERPERIPHERY THEREOF TO FORM A PERIPHERAL FLANGE AROUND THE PERIPHERY OFTHE GROMMET, THE TRANSVERSE PORTIONS OF THE PERIPHERAL FLANGE BEINGCONCAVELY CURVED AND HAVING A CURVATURE CORRESPONDING TO THE CURVATUREOF THE ROD AT THE END OF SAID OPENING, THE GROMMET FURTHER HAVING ACONTINUOUS INNER PERIPHERAL WALL PROJECTING UPWARDLY ABOVE SAID SHOULDERAND DISPOSED WITHIN SAID OPENING, SAID INNER PERIPHERAL WALL PROVIDING APAIR OF LATERALLY EXTENDING LIPS ON THE SIDES OF SAID GROMMET SPACEDFORM THE PERIPHERAL FLANGE TO FORM A PAIR OF GROOVES THEREWITH, SAIDLATERALLY EXTENDING LIPS BEING FORMED OF A RESILIENT SEMIRIGID MOLDEDPLASTIC DEFORMABLE TO ALTER THE LATERAL PROJECTION OF SAID LIPS FORASSEMBLY IN SAID OPENING AND TO RESILIENTLY BIAS SAID PERIPHERAL FLANGEIN INTIMATE CONTACT WITH THE CURVED OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID ROD.